Oxalates

Wonder if anybody is able to join the dots? It got my attention when it was mentioned that oxalate levels (or the inability to deal with them?) can/does result in potassium wasting (among other things). A familiar theme in AF posts.
[articles.mercola.com]

Joe:

I have learned to be careful with what some of these people say that you should take this or that or we have certain problems because of eating nuts, some fruits and veggies. Especially potassium, when I first came to this board most everyone was saying that they take pot. and we should take it for AF. Well, I did take Pot. and when I took it I started getting a lot of palps and some AF, I stopped taking the Pot. and those Palps/AF stopped. When I got my Pot. levels tested I was at the high end of the scale, taking extra Pot. could have put me in the hospital. These people telling you to take this and that supplement or to stop eating good food, are nuts in my estimation. My mother ate potatoes every day of her life and she lived into her nineties and was pretty healthy, she did get AF in her 80s but was OK otherwise.

Liz

Elizabeth, i did not get the impression that S.K. Norton was saying that. What i did take away is that often what we think is THE proper diet is not necessarily good for an individual (as you noticed with potassium).
That's one reason why i listen to all comers. Short of a proper and thorough Mendelian Randomization study backed up by a double blind randomized, usually lengthy, control trial - we are dealing with to may variables/con-founders.
For people who are 'wasting' potassium (and other minerals) it is perhaps useful to look at one's oxalate (among other factors) metabolism?

The precaution for supplementing with potassium has always been that because the majority of afibbers are low in intracellular magnesium, it's important to replenish the magnesium by supplementation first... and then... and only then, begin adding potassium. Otherwise, extra potassium in the presence of low magnesium is known (and shown in studies) to cause AF rather than help prevent. This is because an abundance of potassium tends to shorten the refractory period or the time between beats which is counterproductive.

Because it's not difficult at all to get plenty of potassium from food sources -- unlike magnesium -- it's better to consider that method... and also consider that even with food sources, one could be getting too much potassium compared to magnesium.

Joe... that's a good point and worth individual assessment. Thanks for that.

Jackie

Thanks Jackie! FWIW, i don't supplement with potassium but i do take Mg regularly throughout the day

Quote
Joe
Wonder if anybody is able to join the dots? It got my attention when it was mentioned that oxalate levels (or the inability to deal with them?) can/does result in potassium wasting (among other things). A familiar theme in AF posts.
[articles.mercola.com]

I started to pay attention as I had two calcium oxalate kidney stones 20 years ago. Then I got afib and started supplementing with potassium citrate. The citrate can reduce the incidence of new stones by 80-90%. I did this for a long time and then got lax. 18 months ago did a virtual colonoscopy and a stone showed up. I started religiously supplementing with potassium citrate again. One of the things Mercola mentioned was quick buildup of tartar on the teeth, which can be oxalate. I've had issues with this.

My diet has been very high in oxalates.

My understanding is that this isn't an issue for all, as many have gut bugs that help deal with oxalates. However if you don't, it can be an issue. I've reduced my oxalate load as well as made sure I consume the citrate on an ongoing basis.

Good to know, George. Thanks!
Just by chance i began to add potassium citrate in my distilled drinking water. (not a fan of fluoride in our drinking water since my TSH is a bit too high and my T3 is on the low side)